Upside Down
by Lynda Scott
I have often thought how easy it seems to follow Jesus when everything is going well - when we and our families are healthy, we have a home to live in, a job, money to pay the bills and a great church to be a part of. There are certainly times in our lives when this is the blessing that we live in. But what about the times when this is not where we’re at?
Today’s verse is very poignant to me. On April 16th 1994, my left foot very literally slipped and I fell 35 feet from a cliff, landing on some rocks. Many of the blessings I listed above were totally affected. I lost my health, living in constant pain. I couldn’t work and had to live on a pension, with barely enough money to get by. I had somewhere to live, but I had no peace in my heart. I lost my church family through it, and was very much alone. So how do you go on when life turns upside down?
At times such as these our need of Jesus in our lives has to become everything. I remember feeling like God was not there and that my prayers were bouncing back off the ceiling. We can often doubt God at times like this and consider turning away. I remember thinking: ‘but to whom else can I turn? - Jesus is all I have.’ Right where you are today, Jesus is there with you, even as He was there with me. If you’ll trust Him through your valley His unfailing love will support you, and He’ll comfort you, and bring you through your current trial, one day at a time.
So if you’re feeling alone and in a very desperate place today, hold on to Jesus, and don’t let go. Bit by bit He restored my life and gave me hope for my future. He set my identity in Him during that dark time. I look back on it now with thanksgiving, because He used that time in my life when everything was upside down to give me the most amazing future. That is what He’ll do with you too, if you’ll trust Him!
Prayer: Dear Jesus, I want to trust You when life is going well, and when life isn’t going well. Would You come into my situation today and show me Your unfailing love and Your comfort. I choose to trust You. Please renew my hope and turn this difficult time into one of amazing blessing. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship. Provided full acknowledgement is made to Seeds of the Kingdom as the source, you are also welcome to use it in a non-commercial way and reproduce it in magazines or other Christian websites. The copyright for any commercial use of the material remains with Ellel Ministries International.